Acer’s 16-inch Air Lighter Than a 13-inch MacBook Air
▼ Summary
– The Acer Swift Air 16 is an extremely lightweight 16-inch laptop, weighing as little as 2.18 pounds, and is lighter than a 13-inch MacBook Air.
– It will start at €999 and offers more ports than the MacBook, though North American pricing and availability are still to be determined.
– The laptop is thicker than MacBook Air models and uses AMD Ryzen AI 300-series chips, which are capable but less powerful and efficient than Apple’s M4 chip.
– It features an outdated HDMI 1.4 port, limiting external monitor support, and has a small 50Wh battery that results in significantly lower battery life compared to similar models.
– Despite its drawbacks, the Swift Air 16 is an intriguing machine that shows Acer taking design risks, such as with its gapless keyboard.
Acer’s new Swift Air 16 redefines expectations for large-screen portability, weighing less than Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air while offering a bigger display and more connectivity options. Announced at IFA 2025, this remarkably lightweight laptop starts at €999 and will be available in November, though North American pricing remains unconfirmed. With configurations featuring either an IPS or OLED panel, the device tips the scales at just 2.18 pounds and 2.43 pounds respectively, making it one of the lightest 16-inch laptops ever produced.
It’s genuinely impressive how Acer managed to fit such a large screen into such a minimal frame, even undercutting the famously lightweight LG Gram in heft. However, the pursuit of lightness comes with certain trade-offs. The chassis measures 0.63 inches thick for the IPS model and slightly more for the OLED variant, which is noticeably chunkier than the sleek profiles of Apple’s MacBook Air lineup.
Under the hood, the Swift Air 16 relies on AMD’s Ryzen AI 300-series processors. The base model features a Ryzen AI 5 330 chip, while the top-tier version steps up to the Ryzen AI 7 350. Both are more than adequate for everyday productivity and even light gaming, though they can’t quite match the performance or battery efficiency of Apple’s M4 silicon.
Where the Swift Air 16 truly stands out is in its port selection, which includes two USB-C ports, a USB-A 3.2, and a 3.5mm audio jack, a welcome contrast to Apple’s more minimalist approach. Unfortunately, the inclusion of an HDMI 1.4 port feels like a misstep in 2025. This older standard limits external display support to 4K at just 24 or 30Hz, falling short of the 60Hz or higher refresh rates expected in modern premium laptops.
Display options are solid, with the IPS version offering 1920 x 1200 resolution at 60Hz and the OLED upgrade delivering a sharper 2880 x 1800 panel with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Battery life, however, may give some users pause. The 50Wh battery is smaller than the one in the 13-inch MacBook Air and significantly smaller than the 75Wh cell in Acer’s own Swift 14 AI. As a result, Acer rates the Swift Air 16 for just 13 hours of video playback, less than half the endurance of its smaller sibling.
Another notable design choice is the gapless keyboard, which offers a unique typing experience that may polarize users. While its shallow key travel and seamless appearance aim for a clean aesthetic, it remains to be seen how it will be received in daily use.
Despite these compromises, the Swift Air 16 is a bold and intriguing offering. By challenging conventions around size, weight, and connectivity, Acer has created a machine that stands out in a crowded market, even if the “Air” name invites direct and sometimes unfavorable comparisons.
(Source: The Verge)
